Methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and accounts for around 20% of global emissions, many of which originate from non-point sources such as landfills, animal farms, composts, and sewers [1]. The partial oxidation of methane to methanol represents a promising strategy for methane abatement. As the simplest liquid carrier, methanol is an important chemical feedstock and a potential transportation fuel. Photocatalysis offers a solar driven pathway for methane conversion under mild conditions [2]. However, despite its potential, photocatalytic methane oxidation still faces challenges related to activity, selectivity, and stability. Therefore, the effective design of photocatalysts and cocatalysts is essential. This project aims to develop efficient photocatalysts incorporating dual metal cocatalysts to enable selective methane oxidation to methanol. Fundamental insights into the reaction mechanisms will also be investigated.
School
Chemical Engineering
Research Area
Chemical engineering | Photocatalysis | Renewable energy | Solar fuels
Suitable for recognition of Work Integrated Learning (industrial training)?
No
- Research environment
- Expected outcomes
- Supervisory team
- Reference material/links
The student will have the opportunity to join the Particles and Catalysis Research Group (PartCat) under the supervision of Dr Denny Gunawan, Dr Bingqiao Xie, and Prof Rose Amal. The student will have access to state of the art laboratories equipped with advanced experimental facilities and computational tools for photocatalysis research. This project offers a multidisciplinary research environment where the student will develop a broad set of technical and professional skills, supporting future career opportunities in both academia and industry.
- The student is expected to gain hands on experience in nanomaterials synthesis and characterisation as well as photocatalytic activity measurements.
- The project will also allow the student to work with other research students to gain valuable interdisciplinary experience.
- The generated knowledge and data will result in a scientific journal publication.
- Continuation of the research as an Honours thesis project is possible.
- Balcombe, P. et al. (2018). Methane emissions: choosing the right climate metric and time horizon. Environ. Sci. Processes Impacts 20, 1323 1339.
- Li, X. et al. (2022). Methane transformation by photocatalysis. Nat. Rev. Mater. 7, 617 632.